


Extinguishing an Ember

by AllysaurusRAWR



Series: Notes on a Silver Fox [3]
Category: Black Desert Online (Video Game)
Genre: Character Death, Mild Gore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28808451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllysaurusRAWR/pseuds/AllysaurusRAWR
Summary: Ophelia Kit's cousin Sapphrine has taken up residence in the dusty town of Tarif. One fateful evening proves to have lasting effects.CW: Mild Gore, DeathChapter 1 written with the help of my lovely friend Ynul/Fausted
Series: Notes on a Silver Fox [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2088600
Kudos: 1





	Extinguishing an Ember

A cloaked figure slinked his way out of an open window, one that he no doubt opened himself. Concealed in a cloak, Alberic tucks a tome into his satchel. Purple orbs scanned the area around the building, thankful for the night’s empty streets. He began to walk casually but nerves began to take hold. There had to be someone watching. Steady footsteps quickened as he made his way down the road to the entrance of Tarif. All he had to do was get to the crossroad.

The strange elf hadn’t been wrong. Surely he felt the wards activate as the window slid open and close. Sapphrine had spoken a few words of warning to the two girls in her home. Then picked up her trusty blade and set off into the dark night. Light on her toes the vixen gave chase to the intruder. For now only believing him to be a simple thief. As the distances closed between them she could begin to pick up hints of magic in the air. Was the stranger instead a mage? Whatever the case, they all bleed the same. The world would not miss another evil soul.

As Alberic neared his destination, it became clear that there were footsteps. Perhaps he knew this, or maybe he didn’t. However, once he was sure he was alone he dug his heel into the ground. Stopping abruptly and removing his hood to address the trailing Kit. 

His eyes were not normal. Normal black hues were replaced by ones that were white, almost appearing to swirl. “Ma’am…” He finally spoke. “I don’t have a quarrel with you. I simply needed this book for research purposes and the library was closed. Let me go and you won’t see my face in town again.” 

His tone seemed almost too calm for comfort as he kept his hands raised. Naturally she would scoff at his oh-so-casual attempt at making a polite excuse. While walking forward she rolled sage green eyes and kept a hand on the well kept hilt of leather to her side. Those eyes, the darkness hidden behind a swirling hue of emptiness. Sapphrine sure as fuck wasn’t going to let him go. Primal instincts screamed of his danger. 

“Bullshit. Nobody goes sneaking around in the middle of the night to read. Though I do thank you for letting me know what you stole. Now,” An empty palm faced the sky while fingers wiggled towards him. “Give it back and I’m sure the nice librarians will let you borrow it in the morning.”

A smirk pulled on the elf’s lips. Baring slightly pointed fangs as he chuckled lightly to himself, shaking his head at her authoritative front. As she moved forward, he moved back.

“No...no I don’t think I’ll be able to do it. I need this book, for reasons you don’t need to worry about. Now I see your ears, and trust me when I say I’d rather not have to kill a fox tonight. This doesn’t concern you. Now let. Me. Go.” The center of his swirling pupil began to glow, and from behind him appeared floating black cards with indiscernible symbols written on them.

“Ha! Even if you have spooky eyeballs. I’m. Not. Leaving. Obviously you’re up to some sketchy shit and I don’t care to learn what it is too late.” Not much attention was paid to the cards. Instead she opted to begin pressing at the boundaries of his mind. A gentle, almost loving touch if the situation wasn’t currently happening. At first seeking to be somewhat pleasant about searching through what lies beneath those swirling hues. “Knock knock, let me in.” She teased with a vulpine grin. Alberic was not prepared for this. His eye twitched as he seized up, his cards threatening to dissipate by how unstable their image had become. 

_ “ALBERIC!” _ As Sapphrine dug into his mind, she’d see a skeleton of the man before her. Bound in chains as he stabbed an Ahib woman to death with her own sword. Her screams of his name would drown in her own blood as Alberic kept screaming at her,  _ “I’M NOT WEAK! I’M NOT DAMN YOU!” _ What she had seen tugged at her heartstrings. It was almost as if she could feel what he did in that moment. How warm the blood had been on his hands after the savage thrusts. The sharp echo of his name filling pointed ears.

That was all she got to see however, as Alberic broke free from her mental grasp. His nose was bleeding from the ordeal. “Well aren’t we just a curious little cunt.” He muttered as he dabbed off some of the blood with his cloak. 

“Ooh, are we choosing pet names already? You’re a kinky little fucker. Care to elaborate on your plans? We can do it the easy or hard way, I don’t mind. Have all the time in the fucking world for you silly boy.” Another assault on his thoughts. This time with sharp pin pricks digging in as well. Helping to anchor herself while rummaging to find what she sought. His aims for the stolen book.

He snarled at her but quickly turned to a smirk. From his sides, two daggers forged in blackened steel levitated into his still open palms. “You just don’t know when to let up do you? Oh but you’ve come all this way I suppose I  _ owe _ it to you. But like the old saying goes...we just met. Let’s put it this way, I was mistreated by some very awful people. People who are responsible for the world’s problems.” Casually his arms dropped. Now beginning to slide both blades against each other like a deranged chef. “I simply wish to bring them down to my level. Is that so bad?”

“Gods help me. You’re just some magical fuckboy with a grudge and powers. Impressive ones, I’ll admit. But that hardly excuses tearing the whole damn world apart.” Matching his menacing motions her own blade is drawn. Along with it a foot stepped back to brace for a quick escape if he attempted a frontal attack. Eyes narrowed and Sapphrine growled. “Don’t pull out your toys unless you intend to play with them. I’ll be generous and give you a pass this time. Leave the book and go on your merry little way. There’s plenty of ancient tomes and grimoires about the place which promise mass destruction and anarchy.”

Alberic couldn’t help but to respond by laughing, perhaps due to the fabrics of his brain being partially exposed to the woman. A cackle which carried the weight of frustration and madness behind it. After a few moments he’d pause. His eyes locked onto the woman who was now to become a simple liability to him. “So, you’ve chosen death.”

A thrust of his arm forward caused the cards from earlier to shoot out at her. Despite a lack of wind, the cards would act on their own accord and they would not stop flying at her until they hit something. Those that flew past her cut into the nearby stone like butter. “I gave you a chance dammit. Why do they always try to be heroes?”

“Down boy!” Fiercely barked with an upward flick of her sword. A barrier formed to take the brunt of his summoned cards. Meanwhile the prickling tendrils in his mind continued to warp and spread. A sudden sharp squeeze around the parts of his thoughts which were in her snares. Attacking him from both the front and within to hopefully cease his card game. With a cocky smile she quips back, “Why do they always try to be Villains?”

“Sometimes to do good in the world, you have to be the bad guy! After it’s all done, there will be no more pain. No more Villains!” The cards would simply fizzle and shatter against the barrier. Even as he charged forward to strike he was powerless. His daggers clanged against the magical shield but made no progress. As she dug deeper there were several images of Alberic in chains appearing before them both.  _ “Down boy...down boy…” _ Words Sapphrine said before were familiar to the dark elf. One last strike and the daggers flew from his hand. Alberic recoiled back and fell to his knees. More blood began to drip from his nose. More cackling from the elf as his gaze fell to the dirt. “You sound an awful lot like them…”

She wanted to rattle him further. To goad the mad elf into making dire mistakes. In a defensive stance the vixen circled around him. One of the daggers was cautiously kicked away. “Were you always a rabid dog? Or is this the work of those knife-eared bitches? Suppose that’s for a bigger thinker than me to figure out. Just take the fucking loss kid. Promise we can fight for centuries if that’s what you really want. Now be a good boy and hand this stupid fucking book over.”

It wasn’t Alberic who summoned his memories this time. No, that was the work of the tricky fox. On a seemingly endless loop she replayed one of his happiest scenes that could be found. A unique sort of torture to claw at whatever sentimental being remained. The image both could see was bright, but unstable. Faces were warped, details changing. Whatever happy memory this was, something had erased it from his mind. Knees shook as Alberic managed to fight through the torture and stand up.

“You damn lot. Why… why do you… Underestimate ME!” It was like a bomb went off. A surge of energy would begin to eat at Sapphrine’s shield. No more images for the Kit. His magic began to try and overload her senses while she was still in there. Screaming accompanied by an incomprehensible horror before her unlike any hell taught at church. The dark elf stood and cracked his neck, opening palms to allow his dagger to fly back into place. “You had your fun, is it my turn now little pup?”

  
“Gods dammit!” Howled when her mental wards shattered beneath the force of his explosion. No longer could he feel the presence of another in his mind. She had retreated to lick at unseen wounds and regroup. Even in her decades on the battlefield she had never seen anything like the nightmare now standing. At this moment the electricity in the air made fuzzy fur prickle on edge. Realizing quite quickly that this was a genuine fight to the death. “You motherfucker.” Growled once eyes regained their focus and landed squarely on the abomination. With blade at the ready she prepared to deflect his initial attack.

Alberic shot forward like a bullet. Daggers slashing in her direction with no worry about their mark. He moved around Sapphrine as if in some twisted waltz. “I should thank you, dear girl! You made me realize something. That nobody is different! Even as I tried to be calm, you still had to press my buttons! You sounded like them… Oh  _ FUCK  _ do you just  _ FUCKING  _ sound like them! I hate it. I hate it, I hate it. I. HATE. IT!” One final slash down and he would jump back. It was his turn to test her. “If you were like most foxes, you would be running by now my dear.”

“I liked it better when you called me a cunt!” Barked when her sword angled upward caught his final downward blow. Still, at the end of the encounter there was a new scent. Mingling among the moonlit dust and anger flavoring the air there was now the taste of copper. A flesh wound on her thigh began to paint soft skin a shade of sanguine red. 

“This is one fox you’re not gonna kill.” Hissed before reaching a claw out to try and shred the outer layers of leather hiding his softer parts beneath. There was little reaction from the elf. Not even a step to the side as the leathers of his jacket were torn into with ease. However, what Sapphrine probably wasn’t expecting on his exposed shoulder was a red eyeball that stared right back at her. Before she could try and process the sight, a gloved palm tried to grab hold of the vixen’s face. Her skin began to feel as if it was melting from his touch, though there was no visible damage. She had seen parts of him that nobody was allowed to see, and so it was his turn to find out what she had hidden.

“Everyone has something they’re afraid of. Let’s find out what yours is.” Magic more unstable began to slither through the folds of her mind. Looking for anything to latch onto. She had felt these things before. The mind games of a frenzied soldier, a dangerous encounter indeed. At first she allowed him entry. Forcing forward visions of battlefields strewn with corpses. Their blood being flicked off the very blade now limply held to her side. For a few moments it seemed as though she had gone completely still. The plan to rip out his innards was given pause while their minds collided.

It had been so long, too long in fact, since the fox had to defend herself against such attacks. Clearly she was not prepared for a fight like this. Further and further he slipped into her thoughts. Eventually finding what he had been searching for. Death was the first thought he discovered. But upon further inspection it was not her own. Two girls, their delighted giggles echoing across a calm river. A grin pulled on his lips, giddy at the sight of the two children. They were close to the fox who fought him now. What Sapphrine feared most in the world was losing them. 

She would see them both turn to her for a brief moment, their faces blank and lacking emotion until they both started to scream. Alberic used her pause to drive one of his daggers up. The blade aimed for her stomach. “I see that you care about those two so much. Maybe I should go and pay them both a visit once this is all over? I’m sure they miss you. But don’t worry, they’ll never be alone… Once I give them your head.” 

His attack landed true. Sage green eyes widened in surprise at the sudden, sharp pain in her torso. Manicured razor blades shoved forward and towards the warm flesh beneath his sternum. Motivated by the horrific nightmare he decided to play for her. Aiming to grab and rip out whichever organ was unfortunate enough to be in her way. If she failed at least there would be some scratch marks that may hurt him. Though definitely not as much as her stomach that was now on fire. Another frustrated growl furrows strawberry blonde brows and flattens fuzzy ears.

Her claws would jab into his flesh, but with some resistance he managed to grab onto her arm. Dropping an elbow down on her joint to break it. An inhuman howl pierced the night sky when bone cracked cleanly down the middle of his mark. Almost instantly she withdrew it to hold against her bleeding stomach. 

“What, you thought I was serious with that? I would never! They’re going to be the ones rebuilding these forsaken lands once the ashes of Kamasylvia and O’dyllita block out the sun. It will reset this hell of a world we have!” Rage, set ablaze by the moment, finally revealed his master plan. Quickly he spun around to slash his blades toward her chest. The arm that wasn’t injured managed to parry one of the blades with hers. But his other would find its intended target. 

The fight had taken a toll and some part of Sapphrine knew this was an important moment. There would be no glorious last stand on a battlefield. Nor was she destined to fall into a kind dream and never wake. This moment, as his other dagger sliced through muscle and bone, was one of her last. There is now little space between their bodies. Looking like a perverted parody of lovers waltzing beneath the moonlight.

“Darkness will not win in this place.” Sapphrine murmurs. Already she could feel the life draining from her battered figure. Slipping out as sand does in an hourglass. Alberic, though he could have easily tossed her aside and walked away then and there, would instead help her down slowly. Laying the vixen on her back so she was comfortable.

“It’s not your fault. Think of me as you will, but I have to do this.” He spoke in a hushed tone. One that sounded like a different man, perhaps that small glimmer in a void of what was once a sweet soul. A palm pressed against her forehead, filling her with sweet memories as she tried to do for him earlier. However, all the while he was draining her magic to use as his own in the future. Now he couldn’t be stopped. 

Sapphrine tried, she really did, to fight against the siphoning of her gifts. But she had faded too much by this point to do much. At least there was the consolation of her memories. Thea and Thalia. Her two beloved nieces danced and played through a field of flowers. Smiling brighter than the summer sun that beat down on the little family. The happy pair moved closer and closer to their Aunt as the corners of her mind were eaten away by nothing. With her last breath and remnants of power left she amplified her thoughts to the anxious teens in town.

“I love you. Run.”

Alberic got up slowly and began to adjust his coat. Turning to walk away from the scene as if nothing had occurred. 


End file.
